RUMOR: Toyota May Build PHEV

Just received notice from Felix Kramer of CalCars via hybridcars.com that an industry newsletter reported a RUMOR that Toyota may build hybrid PHEV's.  In part here is what Kramer revealed:

"Inside Fuels and Vehicles" by Editor-In-Chief Peter Rohde
Toyota Mulls Dramatic Reversal, May Be Developing Plug-In Hybrids

After years of emphasizing its hybrid vehicles do not have to be plugged in, Toyota appears to be on the verge of a dramatic reversal and may be developing plug-in hybrids, auto industry sources tell Inside Fuels and Vehicles. But they also say the auto giant is still leery of the limitations battery technology places on the endeavor. 

A recent Toyota presentation at the Tokyo auto show on hybrid vehicles extolling the environmental and practical virtues of plug-in hybrids seems to provide the intellectual underpinnings of the decision. The presentation, obtained by Inside Fuels and Vehicles, concludes that based on five criteria: 1. well-to-wheels carbon dioxide emissions; 2. missions of criteria pollutants; 3. refueling infrastructure; 4. driving range; and 5. fuel diversity. Under these criteria, plug-in hybrids would perform as well as or better than other motor vehicle technology -- including regular battery-electric hybrids, all-electric vehicles and even fuel cell vehicles (if the hydrogen is obtained from natural gas). ...

Some industry experts question whether or not today's battery technology is adequate. The battery packs in hybrids on the road today operate under a very narrow charge/discharge range. They are never allowed to drain down very far. For plug-in technology to make sense, the charge/discharge range would have to be much wider, shortening battery life.

Technology challenges notwithstanding, observers, and even industry competitors, see the plug-in hybrid reversal in strategy as a brilliant move on several levels. On the societal level, it appeases environmental activists on one side and neo-conservatives on the other. From a business point of view, it puts domestic automakers and others without hybrids on the road further behind. ...

Auto industry sources say Toyota will follow a unique strategy in developing plug-ins. Informed sources say responsibility for the battery component would be born by California utility Pacific Gas and Electric. The sources also see this as a brilliant strategy. As one pointed out, automakers don't produce gasoline, so a utility taking responsibility for the batteries isn't too far a stretch.

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Comments

[Tesla_X]

Finally!

It sounds like someone at Toyota is showing some STONES!

They should include an optional 120V outlet (or 4) so that it could function as an emergency power source during a blackout or during a camping trip.

Another bonus would be the ability to add a solar roof rack and module interface to charge the batteries while on the go on a sunny roadtrip or sitting in the company parking lot during the workday.

This would probably further extend the mileage between fuelings and plugins.

[Christiaan]

Also follow the latest developments of the Toyota Daystar. Daily updated and promoted by quietta.
http://finance.messages.yahoo.com/bbs?.mm=FN&action=m&board=1608284951&tid=dsti&sid=1608284951&mid=24943

[mk]

July 25, NY Times

Toyota to Test Plug-In Hybrid, Rivaling G.M.
By MICHELINE MAYNARD
DETROIT, July 24 — Toyota Motor Company said Tuesday that it was testing hybrid vehicles with rechargeable batteries in the United States and Japan, setting up a direct challenge with General Motors to develop the industry’s first plug-in hybrids.
Toyota’s announcement is its first formal confirmation that it is ready to test plug-in hybrid vehicles, which environmentalists say may prove to be cleaner and more fuel-efficient than current hybrids.
In recent months, Toyota executives have said the company had plug-in hybrids under development, but would not give more details.
Toyota already is the world’s biggest producer of conventional hybrid-electric vehicles, which run off a gasoline motor and a battery. Indeed, for years, executives had played down the prospects for plug-in hybrids, saying consumers preferred the convenience of vehicles that did not need to be recharged.
It has sold more than 1 million hybrid vehicles worldwide, including 750,000 Prius cars, since the Prius went on sale in Japan in 1998. Prius became available in the United States, its largest market, in the year 2000.
Industry experts say plug-in hybrid vehicles, known as PHEVs, may provide a longer battery life and prove more environmentally friendly than current hybrids.
Toyota said it would provide prototype versions of plug-in hybrid vehicles to researchers at the University of California, Irvine, and the University of California, Berkeley. It also said that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in Japan had approved the testing of plug-in hybrid vehicles on public roads in Japan.
Toyota is the only Japanese auto company thus far that has requested permission to test plug-in hybrids in Japan.
“The Toyota Prius convinced mainstream consumers on the merits of hybrids,” J. Davis Illingworth, a senior vice president with Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., said in a statement. “Although there is much work to be done with plug-ins, we see this pilot program as a significant step in the advancement of the technology.”
The prototype plug-in hybrids will be powered by two oversize packs of nickel-metal hydride batteries that are meant to simulate the kind of power Toyota expects future versions of the batteries to yield. The packs are capable of storing significantly more energy than the kind of battery found on the Prius, Toyota said.

[husky air compressor]

I'm working on a green house project. I'm really interested by this hybrid cars.
thanks a lot!
Husky air compressor
Husky air compressor parts

[Chris Gozdzik]

I know I will probably go against the grain, but I think that the whole hybrid thing is a huge hype and there is no REAL evidence that it actually helps the environment.

Before you jump to hang me dry - do you have the facts straight? What's the carbon footprint of producing electricity? The moment most would switch to electric cars - the hydro bill would triple or quadruple.

Am I against progress and green technology? Absolutely not! Am I doubting the environmental concerns of whoever is pushing the hybrids? You bet!